---
title: overwhelm — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «overwhelm» in the school dictionary: To overwhelm someone is to give them so much of a feeling or so much to do that they can't cope. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# overwhelm

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** they, noise, party, kind messages, homework, you · **What happens:** overwhelm, be, do, not cope, mean, cover · **To what, where:** someone, them, enemy, me, I, you

<!-- .vabout -->
«overwhelm» in the school dictionary: its 3 meanings for a pupil and its 7 examples, every sentence parsed by Mova itself — its syntax tree, a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies, and its pragmatics clause by clause. The word in the dictionary, with its sense in the lessons: [overwhelm in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/overwhelm.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To overwhelm someone is to give them so much of a feeling or so much to do that they can't cope.

<!-- fold The tree, 22 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:overwhelm:m1:1
# text = To overwhelm someone is to give them so much of a feeling or so much to do that they can't cope.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	overwhelm	overwhelm	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	6	csubj	_	_
3	someone	someone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	2	obj	_	_
4	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	6	mark	_	_
6	give	give	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
7	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	iobj	_	_
8	so	so	ADV	RB	_	9	advmod	_	_
9	much	much	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	obj	_	_
10	of	of	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
11	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	feeling	feeling	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nmod	_	_
13	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	15	cc	_	_
14	so	so	ADV	RB	_	15	advmod	_	_
15	much	much	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	conj	_	_
16	to	to	PART	TO	_	17	mark	_	_
17	do	do	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	15	acl	_	_
18	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	22	mark	_	_
19	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	22	nsubj	_	_
20	ca	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	22	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	22	advmod	_	_
22	cope	cope	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	17	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
23	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **overwhelm** | to-infinitive |  | someone |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Stimulus someone=Experiencer |
| 2 | **is** | present |  |  | them *= they* |  |  | give *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **do** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn act-114-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 4 | **not** **cope** | can | they |  |  |  |  |  | vn cope-83-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To overwhelm an enemy or team is to beat them completely with greater force.

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:overwhelm:m2:1
# text = To overwhelm an enemy or team is to beat them completely with greater force.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	overwhelm	overwhelm	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	9	advcl	_	_
3	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	enemy	enemy	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
6	team	team	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	conj	_	_
7	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	cop	_	_
8	to	to	PART	TO	_	9	mark	_	_
9	beat	beat	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
10	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	9	obj	_	_
11	completely	completely	ADV	RB	_	9	advmod	_	_
12	with	with	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
13	greater	great	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	14	amod	_	_
14	force	force	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	9	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **overwhelm** | to-infinitive |  | a enemy or team |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Stimulus enemy=Experiencer |
| 2 | **is** | present |  |  |  |  |  | with greater force; beat, completely *property* | tree rules |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To overwhelm can mean to cover completely, like a flood.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:overwhelm:m3:1
# text = To overwhelm can mean to cover completely, like a flood.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	overwhelm	overwhelm	AUX	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
3	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
4	mean	mean	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	6	mark	_	_
6	cover	cover	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	xcomp	_	_
7	completely	completely	ADV	RB	_	6	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
9	like	like	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	flood	flood	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | can · infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **cover** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  | like a flood; completely *property* | vn fill-9.8-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Theme |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The noise of the party overwhelmed me.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:overwhelm:x1:1
# text = The noise of the party overwhelmed me.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	noise	noise	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	party	party	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
6	overwhelmed	overwhelm	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	me	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	6	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **overwhelm** | past | the noise of the party | me |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Stimulus i=Experiencer |
| 2 | **noise** |  | the party |  |  |  |  |  | nom noise «event intransitive»: of=agent |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
I was overwhelmed by all the kind messages.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:overwhelm:x2:1
# text = I was overwhelmed by all the kind messages.
1	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux:pass	_	_
3	overwhelmed	overwhelm	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
4	by	by	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
5	all	all	DET	PDT	PronType=Tot	8	det:predet	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	kind	kind	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	messages	message	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **overwhelm** | past · passive | all kind messages | I |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Stimulus subject=Experiencer |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
When homework overwhelms you, do one task at a time.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:overwhelm:x3:1
# text = When homework overwhelms you, do one task at a time.
1	When	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	3	advmod	_	_
2	homework	homework	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	overwhelms	overwhelm	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	advcl	_	_
4	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Person=2|PronType=Prs	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	6	punct	_	_
6	do	do	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	one	one	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	8	nummod	_	_
8	task	task	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	_
9	at	at	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	time	time	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **overwhelm** | present | homework | you |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Stimulus you=Experiencer |
| 2 | **do** | imperative | you *not said here* | one task |  |  | time |  | vn act-114-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent task=Eventuality |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The bigger army overwhelmed the castle.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:overwhelm:x4:1
# text = The bigger army overwhelmed the castle.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	bigger	big	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	3	amod	_	_
3	army	army	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	overwhelmed	overwhelm	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	castle	castle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **overwhelm** | past | the bigger army | the castle |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Stimulus castle=Experiencer |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The wave overwhelmed the small boat.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:overwhelm:x5:1
# text = The wave overwhelmed the small boat.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	wave	wave	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	overwhelmed	overwhelm	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	small	small	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	boat	boat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **overwhelm** | past | the wave | the small boat |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Stimulus boat=Experiencer |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She felt overwhelmed on her first day at school.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:overwhelm:x6:1
# text = She felt overwhelmed on her first day at school.
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	felt	feel	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	overwhelmed	overwhelm	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	2	xcomp	_	_
4	on	on	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
5	her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	7	nmod:poss	_	_
6	first	first	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos|NumForm=Word|NumType=Ord	7	amod	_	_
7	day	day	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
8	at	at	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	school	school	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **feel** | past | She |  |  |  |  |  | vn conjecture-29.5-2 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Theme |
| 2 | **overwhelm** | participle | She *not said here* |  |  |  | day |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V ADV-Middle»: agent=Experiencer |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The king was overwhelmed with astonishment, but the girl had taken heart again.

<!-- fold The tree, 13 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:overwhelm:x7:1
# text = The king was overwhelmed with astonishment, but the girl had taken heart again.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	king	king	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux:pass	_	_
4	overwhelmed	overwhelm	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
5	with	with	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	astonishment	astonishment	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
8	but	but	CCONJ	CC	_	12	cc	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	girl	girl	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	nsubj:pass	_	_
11	had	have	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	12	aux	_	_
12	taken	take	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	4	conj	_	_
13	heart	heart	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	obj	_	_
14	again	again	ADV	RB	_	12	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **overwhelm** | past · passive |  | the king |  |  |  | with astonishment | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V NP»: subject=Experiencer |
| 2 | **take** | past · perfect · passive |  | the girl |  |  | again |  | vn bring-11.3 «NP V NP ADVP»: subject=Theme heart=Destination |

<!-- div src -->

**Text:** the school dictionary of Mova's schools (`world/data/dictionary-schools/`), written for Mova. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each meaning and example read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

<!-- /div -->

<!-- pn -->
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